The tangle of vegetation may look like an abandoned field. Or an overgrown vacant lot (Figure 1). But it is a farm. And a shining example of indigenous scientific knowledge. Indeed, this image can help us reassess the widespread expectation (this month's Sacred Bovine) that science – or the best modern science – owes its effectiveness to lab experiments and the latest shiny technology. First, we might appreciate how this field can reflect good science, then ask more about science itself in an indigenous context. That might inform us more deeply about how science works.